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In 2015, a shark killed a German tourist off Egypt's Red Sea coast, marking the first death in five years.

There were six recorded shark attacks in Egyptian waters in 2010, including a spate of five in five days unusually close to the shore that killed another German and injured four other foreign tourists in December that year.

The 2010 attacks forced the government to close off a stretch of beach in the Sharm el-Sheikh resort for a week.

In 2017, Egypt received 8.3 million visitors, a surge of 54 per cent from 5.4 million in 2016.

The country's tourism industry had been dealt a devastating blow in 2015 when jihadists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 on board.

Before that, the industry had begun to recover from the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

Travel agencies, hotel managers and diving centres told AFP earlier this year that reservations have risen, especially in Red Sea destinations including Marsa Alam and Hurghada.